I had been to Chicago one time before, but it was while chaperoning students on a Journalism Field Trip, so I didn’t quite get to do all of the things I wanted. I had a blast while there, including getting the chance to visit my Aunt and a cousin and her family, and I can’t wait to get back to spend even more time.

Chicago is very easy to walk, and I loved getting around by foot even though it was extremely hot and humid while I was there. One of my favorites was people watching as they cooled off at this spot above in Millenial Park. Water came out of that guy’s mouth – and the kids were having a blast with it. I also loved seeing my second Calder piece of the trip (refer back to my Seattle post for the other).

I took the train out to Wrigley and, even though they weren’t at home while I was there, it became very obvious that Wrigleyville just has to be insane during a home game. It was pretty cool to see Harry Caray and Ernie Banks immortalized in statue form. Having grown up watching afternoon Cubs’ games on WOR, with Caray on the mic, referencing Banks and his famous “Let’s play two” constantly, I was thankful to see these statues.

Lake Michigan was the last of the bodies of water I saw on the trip and I loved seeing these sailboats at the ready (incidentally, the others were the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, the Colorado River, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Coeur d’Alene).

Cloud Gate, or The Bean, as many people call it, is a must see. I was actually shocked and disappointed to see and hear people who were surprised to see the skyline in the reflection, instead being too busy looking for themselves. What a world we live in…

No trip to Chicago would be complete for me unless it included a few hours at the Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve had the great fortune to visit some incredible museums (The Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, The National Gallery of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to name more than few), but the Art Institute of Chicago stands out for me, mainly because of that pointilistic Seurat seen above. I’ve been obsessed with Ferris Beuller’s Day Off since it came out and the Museum Scene is one of my favorite one minute and fifty seconds of any movie. This piece, however, isn’t all this Museum has, as can be seen by the Lichtenstein, the Pollock, the Hoppers, the Grant Wood, the O’Keefe, and the Jasper Johns’ piece in the above photos. I absolutely love visiting this spot…